2001connections-article0024 Abolishing unreasonably low speed limits.

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2001connections-article0024
Abolishing unreasonably low speed limits.

My favourite pet peeve in this area are 50 km/h [about 31 mph] service roads adjacent to 100 km/h [about 63 mph] highways. How many vehicles actually travel at a rate of only 50 km/h on the service road? Evidently very few. Most of the time, not even one. Just 0 [zero]. So in theory, all these drivers should get speeding tickets. But they don't. Defintely not all of them. Apparently, only a minimal minority, just the select few who travel at speeds significantly in excess of the posted limit. How fast is ticketable? It seems to vary. The low end appears to be as little as 65 km/h [about 40 mph] and up, on a slow day. Other times, only from 85 km/h [about 53 mph] upwards. This bizarre practice creates serious problems:
    [[1]] Lack of respect for the rule of law. Because the message conveyed to drivers seems to be that contravening the law just a little bit is all right, but not too much. What kind of anarchy system are we running here?!?! It needs to be cleaned up at once!!
    [[2]] Fear and uncertainty. These negative vibes are not exactly conducive to safe driving. It is more desirable to focus most of your attention on the road and on driving, instead of constantly worrying about getting a ticket.
    [[3]] Great variations in speed among vehicles. A multitude of drivers are rolling along, travelling side by side. Some as slowly as 60 km/h [about 37 mph] or less, and a great many others as fast as 80 km/h [about 50 mph] and over. This significant difference in speed severely increases the risk of accidents.

The solution is clear. Raise the speed limit to a more realistic level. On a service road adjacent to a 100 km/h [about 63 mph] highway, 70 km/h [about 44 mph] would be perfectly reasonable. Thus, if we have almost all vehicles travelling at around 70 km/h [about 44 mph] in this particular scenario, the safety of just about all road users could be improved.
    I actually recall at least 1[one] instance in which the service road adjacent to a 100 km/h [about 63 mph] highway carried a more reasonable speed limit of 70 km/h [about 44 mph]. As a result, the differences in speed between various vehicles were more moderate. The fastest drivers were rolling along at about the same speed fast as they do on a 50 km/h [about 31 mph] service road. However, the slowest ones were not quite as slow as on the 50 km/h [about 31 mph] service road. So overall, the motorized environment was comparatively safer on the 70 km/h [about 44 mph] service road, compared to the slower one, in my humble, subjective opinion.
    To test my theory, I have driven on a 50 km/h [about 31 mph] service road several times, in each instance setting the cruise control at exactly 50 km/h. In the far right lane, of course. In just about every case, my prediction came true. All the other drivers passed my car, many at great speed. I did not pass a single vehicle. Some of the motorists overtaking my vehicle made abrupt manoeuvres and swerved. Clearly, no other drivers expected a single vehicle to be rolling along at exactly the posted speed limit. Even more remarkable, this service road was adjacent to a relatively slower highway, one with a posted speed limit of only 70 km/h [about 44 mph]. Therefore, one might reasonably these drivers to slow down. But they did not.
    Once more, the conclusion seems clear. Most speed limits need to be raised.

End of
2001connections-article0024
Abolishing unreasonably low speed limits.

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